R&M expands fibre-optic production in India

Swiss multinational R&M, which specialises in cabling and connectivity solutions, has opened a new fibre-optic plant in India. The plant, which commenced operations in mid-May, is located in Bagaluru, in the north of Bangalore.

The Bagaluru plant involved investment in new production lines and an increase in production capacity. Bagaluru is now R&M’s largest site worldwide for the manufacture of fibre-optic cabling components.

“Demand for fibre-optic connectivity solutions from R&M is increasing in India and Asia in general,” said Laurent Amestoy, Executive Vice President R&M APAC. “The driving forces are broadband supply, 5G and data centres. That’s why we’re building up additional manufacturing capacities here.

“The fibre-optic plant plays a key role in our regional growth strategy and strengthens our position as a top-quality vendor of connectivity infrastructure solutions.”

R&M CEO Michel Riva said the investment reaffirmed R&M’s commitment to a long-term involvement in the growth market of India, with the new plant also taking on a global function.

“As the largest production site, it provides flexible and responsive resources for our supply chain. This makes us more competitive and also ready for a new upswing in western markets,” he said.

One of the new site’s advantages is its location just 10 km from the international airport, R&M COO Markus Stieger explained. “Bagaluru provides the ideal premises in the dynamic industrial agglomeration of Bangalore,” he said.

“Spread over three floors, the new building offers flexible expansion options and 400–500 modern workplaces. Our production operation works in accordance with the high Swiss quality standards that R&M represents worldwide. Due to demand, we are already planning two- and three-shift operation.”

R&M has had production facilities in India since 2014. Initially, these facilities were focused on assembling fibre-optic patch cords for the global market. In 2018, R&M opened a plant with 200 workplaces in Jakkur near Bangalore. With the rollout of broadband and rapid data centre growth, demand onsite increased rapidly.

R&M said it now supplies India’s entire telecom industry as well as metro and smart city projects with a comprehensive fibre-optic portfolio.

Since 2023, the company has been involved in supplying fibre-optic connectivity solutions for the base stations of the new 5G networks in India.

Image caption: R&M India has opened a new plant for the production of fibre-optic products in Bagaluru, in the north of Bangalore. Image courtesy of R&M.